Boomers and millennials fight for homes as housing market cools (2024)

FAQs

Do baby boomers overtake millennials as prime homebuying generation? ›

They had the highest median household income of any generation ($114,300), followed by older millennials ($102,900). In addition to leading the way in home buying, baby boomers remained the largest home seller generation, jumping from 42% in 2021 to 52% in 2022.

Millennials are not buying homes as readily as the previous generation. Delaying marriage and having children is keeping many Millennials at home with their parents. Tighter lending criteria can also make homeownership unaffordable or virtually impossible for those without much credit history.

Millennials, aged 27 to 42, make up the biggest group citing affordability as one of the key issues that's preventing them from buying a home. Older millennials, between 34 and 42, were the biggest group that cited the inability to afford the down payment or closing costs as a major reason why they don't own a home.

Key Takeaways

Technology plays a big part in millennial house-hunting, with this generation turning to mobile devices to search, view properties, and communicate with real estate agents. With fewer starter homes available, millennials are increasingly buying nicer first homes than previous generations did.

Baby boomers increasingly say they are purchasing a home to live closer to friends and family due to retirement or a desire for a smaller home. Eighteen percent of home buyers ages 68 to 76 say they purchased a multigenerational home, according to the study. They also tend to be drawn to newer homes.

Baby boomers are typically more traditional than millennials in terms of lifestyle. They are more likely to be homeowners and to live in traditional nuclear families. On the other hand, millennials are more likely to put off getting married and having kids later in life.

Key points. Millennials and baby boomers have a mostly contentious relationship.

Men were more likely to value mateship, rule of law, tolerance, intellectualism and creativity and women to emphasise physical health and fitness, resilience and sustainability.

The majority of millennials likely grew up with smart technology and are looking for homes that come with smart features such as smart locks, home security, automatic lighting, and Nest thermostats. They want to be able to control their heating and cooling system, as well as appliances, with an app. Updated kitchen.

Suzanne Rocha, a Bay Area real estate broker and owner of Cal Home Real Estate Services, said that based on her own experience and observation, almost half of millennials need some degree of help from family support, 401(k) withdrawals or down payment assistance programs to afford a home.

Why is it hard to market to millennials? ›

Millennials are a difficult generation to market to due to the fact that they do not respond well to traditional marketing strategies or tactics. In order to seize this opportunity, it's crucial to understand what makes this audience unique before trying to reach them through typical marketing tactics.

Sky-high rent is why 39% of the millennials who moved back in with their parents last year did so, per a survey by PropertyManagement.com. More than half said they boomeranged back home to save more money. It's proof that living at home with parents can be financially beneficial.

This age-related housing trend holds up across the owner-renter divide. In 2021, there were 58.4% and 15.9% more senior and non-senior renter households than in 2007, respectively. Among homeowners, the share of senior households jumped by 49.3%, while the number of non-senior households contracted by 2.0%.

Aging baby boomers leaving their existing homes either through downsizing or death will have minimal impact on housing inventory and prices over the next decade and beyond, a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association's Research Institute for Housing America found.

Millennials are fueling a generational housing bubble - and it's set to pop in the next decade as demand drops, researchers say. Millennials are fueling a generational housing bubble, researchers said in a new report. That's due to demand from Millennials, who are at their peak age range for household formation.

Baby Boomers value individuality and youth and are self-absorbed. Baby Boomers were born between 1943 and 1964.

The top 5 Baby Boomer values include hard work, individualism, optimism, family, and consumerism. These values were instilled in them during a time of significant social change, economic prosperity, and technological advancement.

Approximately 85 percent of baby boomers surveyed indicated they are not planning to sell their home in the next year. The main reason, according to the survey, is that their current home meets the needs of their family. “Aging in place” is not a foreign concept to the housing market.

Many baby boomers see millennials as impatient, unprofessional, and lazy, while millennials may see baby boomers as unapproachable or old-school. At the end of the day, your age has nothing to do with your success; your execution does. If that message is not conveyed from the top, these generations may clash.

The Greatest Generation is a term used to describe those Americans who grew up during the Great Depression and fought in World War II, or whose labor helped win it. The term "the Greatest Generation" is thought to have been coined by former NBC Nightly News anchor and author Tom Brokaw in his book by the same name.

What will millennials be known for? ›

According to Cigna International Health's 2023 survey of almost 12,000 workers around the world, 91% of 18-to-24-year-olds report being stressed – compared to 84% on average. Research indicates Gen Z are emerging as the most stressed demographic in the workplace, and struggling mightily to cope.

According to a recent survey of 1,300 managers, three out of four agree that Gen Z is harder to work with than other generations — so much so that 65% of employers said they have to fire them more often.

Like Boomers, Millennials are a huge generation that we sometimes split into two subgroups: Early Millennials (born 1980-1987) and Recessionists (born 1988-1995).

They value family, personal connection, and loyalty. They seek out the genuine and are repulsed by phony. They are famously optimistic and believe in the possibility of change. They advocate for the environment and social justice.

Flexibility and Multitasking

As already mentioned, the Millennial Generation is able to accept different cultures. Hence, flexibility means that Millennials are able to work with new people, places, and situations. Although they do not expect to change, they are ready to accommodate to new things and people.

Most millennials are the children of baby boomers and older Generation X; millennials are often the parents of Generation Alpha. Across the globe, young people have postponed marriage. Millennials were born at a time of declining fertility rates around the world, and are having fewer children than their predecessors.

While millennials are technology-focused, their choices in architectural styles are far from cold and of the cookie-cutter type. They want old-World charm, character, and modern conveniences in their homes. These are some of the designs that are appealing to millennials.

The number of millionaire renters has tripled in the past five years. More and more millionaires are stepping on the everyman's corner and renting apartments rather than putting down roots and money to become homeowners.

What percentage of millennials will own a home? ›

For the first time, more than half of millennials own a home. The rest are finding it increasingly out of reach. The millennial homeownership rate hit 51.5% in 2022, US Census data show.

Millennials likely will start to enter retirement around 2050. When they do, what can they expect? For starters, they can expect to receive Social Security, albeit with slightly fewer benefits. Changing the retirement age to 69 would reduce their lifetime benefits by approximately 7.5%.

The average millennial bought their first home at 34, slightly older than the average age of past generations, when boomers took the keys at 33 and Gen X at 32.

Millennials expect to quickly find information such as product details and reviews and price comparisons. And price is important to this generation. Nearly 80% of Millennials are influenced by price when shopping, as reported on Forbes.com.

According to analysis from The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, their entire generation may have missed out on economic opportunities their parents and grandparents all enjoyed. The Fed went so far as to call older millennials (those born in the 1980s) a “lost generation.”

Since the pandemic, more millennials are opting to live with their parents to save money and aren't in any rush to move out on their own.

The business cites that so many millennials want to leave their current employer due to a lack of engagement tactics and attraction and retention strategies. It's safe to say that based on these findings, millennials aren't interested in remaining with companies that don't tend to their need to feel engaged at work.

For instance, the baby boomers increased inflation by an estimated 6 percentage points in the United States between 1955 and 1975 and lowered it by 5 percentage points between 1975 and 1990, when they entered working life.

What are baby boomers target market for? ›

Despite being overtaken by Millennials as the largest generation, Baby Boomers still hold the most buying power. They also adopted the online shopping and content consumption habits of younger generations, making them prime targets for businesses in food, fashion, health, and even luxury niches.

Or, the last member of the generation could fail to hit the projected mark, and leave us that much sooner. (Belated apologies for how macabre this whole thing is.) The last member of the silent generation will likely have left us by 2067. The last boomer, by 2088.

Baby boomers hold a large amount of the wealth in the U.S., making them a prime market segment. Baby boomers are gradually retiring, boosting demand for—and investment opportunities in—healthcare, elder care, medical devices, and related industries that cater to that demographic.

Key Takeaways. Millennials are not buying homes as readily as the previous generation. Delaying marriage and having children is keeping many Millennials at home with their parents. Tighter lending criteria can also make homeownership unaffordable or virtually impossible for those without much credit history.

One reason millennials aren't buying houses is simply because the money just isn't there and the rates are just too high. According to Daniel Pitner, a real estate agent out of Glendale, Arizona, “The current interest rate environment has made homeownership extremely expensive on a monthly basis.

Despite current conditions, Generation Z remains determined to become homeowners, according to a recent Rocket Mortgage® survey. In fact, 71.5% of Gen Zers plan to buy their first home in the next 1-6 years, while 37.2% plan on buying as soon as 1 – 3 years.

Generation X made up 24% of total buyers. They had the highest median household income of any generation ($114,300), followed by older millennials ($102,900). In addition to leading the way in home buying, baby boomers remained the largest home seller generation, jumping from 42% in 2021 to 52% in 2022.

Baby boomers beat out millennials as the largest share of buyers last year. Baby boomers made up the largest share of homebuyers last year at 39 percent, according to a recent report from the NAR.

The 2023 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report found that the boomer generation had a 39% share of home purchases in 2022, while millennials had 28%. It's a fairly dramatic change compared to 2021, when millennials had a 43% share compared to the boomers' 28%.

What is the peak year for baby boomers? ›

The GI Generation and many of the Silent Generation gave birth to the Baby Boomers, who were born between 1945 and 1964. They were also called “War Babies,” because the men returning from WWII really missed their wives and sweethearts. The Boomer birth peak came in 1957 with 4.3 million live births.

Highlights from this year's report: Nationwide, millennials have finally passed 50 percent homeownership, but they have purchased homes slower than previous generations. For instance, when Gen X was the same age as millennials today, their homeownership rate was 58 percent.

The millennial homeownership rate hit 51.5% in 2022, US Census data show. It's been a slog to get there for the generation that came of age during the financial crisis — by age 30, 42% of millennials owned their homes compared to 48% of Gen X and more than half of baby boomers.

The average millennial bought their first home at 34, slightly older than the average age of past generations, when boomers took the keys at 33 and Gen X at 32.

You'll find the greatest concentration of baby boomers in three northeastern states: Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Boomers make up just under 30 percent of the population in these states, which are also the nation's oldest in terms of overall population.

The median baby boomer household isn't doing much better, with $134,000 in retirement savings in 2019, the most recent federal data.

Baby boomers have the highest household net worth of any US generation. Defined by the Federal Reserve as being born between 1946 and 1964 (currently in the ages between 59 and 77), baby boomers are in often in the sunset of their career or early into retirement.

A recent study from apartment search website and research blog RentCafe reveals that the generation transitioned from renter to owner, with 52% of millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, owning a home in 2022.

All boomers and 1 in 5 U.S. residents will have reached 'retirement age' As the population ages, the ratio of 65-plus residents to working-age adults is expected to rise. By 2030, the United States for the first time will have more 65-and-older residents than children, the Census Bureau projected this week.

The United States Census Bureau defines baby boomers as "individuals born in the United States between mid-1946 and mid-1964". Landon Jones, in his book Great Expectations: America and the Baby Boom Generation (1980), defined the span of the baby-boom generation as extending from 1946 through 1964.

What are late baby boomers called? ›

Generation Jones and the Boomers

The Baby Boomer generation was born between the post-war years of 1946 to 1964. A subset of the Boomers, Generation Jones, was born in the later years of the Baby Boom, from 1954 to 1964.